Before Truth

As is the case for the Tiger, it’s unlikely to be an eventful year for the Rabbit. The focus has shifted off of you for now. Maybe you’ve got a new place to call home for a few years. I hope you were able to make that what you wanted it to be.

Rabbits are the recipients of the 息神 Rest Spirit in 2024. It is considered an auspicious star, but in these times, I hope it’s not adding to your frustration. How’s your health? As implied, the Rest Spirit means you rest and/or you have time to rest. It may be related to breath, as in catching your breath. We have experienced the Rest Spirit in the Rabbit before, most recently in March 2020.

Here’s a question for Rabbits. In March 2024 will you dive back down into the hole? Or will you hide out in plain sight? Are you going to choose yin or yang this year? Yes or No? Guess what? There is no final answer. You get to decide as you go along. You’re a Rabbit and this is your life. No one can tell you it’s wrong. No one can tell you it’s right. Do you hate that or love it?

Things feel a little bit unstable this year for the Rabbit. Maybe there’s an energy under the surface that is making you feel such connection to the tectonic shifts of the year.

For the Rabbit, it’s as if the Tiger year has returned, at least in the first half of 2024. You might feel overshadowed. The second half of the year is mostly about money and success. Again, like the Tiger, Rabbits want to be aware of the size of what you’re taking on but also not be put off by it. When progress is slow, it’s hard to imagine the growth spurts that will come later. This same Wood energy that connects you to the power of the year might get cut off in September or October. Is there anything that might happen in those months that you could address now?

I have to admit, I didn’t understand how Rabbit energy might mean disagreeing about the meaning of everything – that is, until last year. So many of us in 2023 were still purposely ignoring or misinterpreting the meaning of pertinent scientific facts. Another thing I never really thought about with the Rabbit is the potential for violence and how adept the Rabbit can be with it. I suppose with Roosters as your enemy, that makes sense. Rabbits have to be pushed beyond some point of no return to do violence, but once that happens, it’s on and you will not be ready.

Many Rabbits have had to purposely ignore or misinterpret the meaning of their experiences in order to survive. Maybe you have purposely ignored or misinterpreted the meaning of the Rabbit because it hurts too much to acknowledge that your social status can change in devastating ways based on your physical body. You don’t want to know that. I don’t either but now I know.

This isn’t just a Rabbit thing, everyone has things they avoid acknowledging, but the Rabbit might have coined the phrase “what you know could kill you”. You could die from knowing it. You could die from not acknowledging it.

I think Rabbits are often told how brave they are because of what we think they have endured. In America we like to celebrate survivors but I’d prefer to celebrate people not having to be perpetually resilient to survive. Before you tell people how brave and amazing they are, think about whether or not they had a choice. Yes they are brave and amazing, but what choice was there for them other than to accept what was done or given? Accept or fight for your life. Those are the usual choices a Rabbit starts off with. Persistence and resilience can only go so far. At a certain point the anger becomes part of the collective, and now it is.

Wood can dry up Water but this isn’t always a benefit to the Wood. It depends. If Rabbit is the sign that can contain fear, that’s Wood controlling Water. At times, Rabbits can be the bravest of the brave. I imagine that feat takes some serious dissociation. Also – when we identify someone’s commitment to having a life as bravery, I wonder if that makes sense. They are just trying to be themselves in spite of their physical (or other) limitations, just like all of us.

To be blunt, I worry that the Rabbit has been more impacted by Covid than any other sign. I don’t necessarily mean people born in the year of the Rabbit or even those who have a Rabbit in their Ba Zi. There are wider meanings to these symbols and what I’ve seen is that children and mothers are being damaged. I’m seeing people who may have limited mobility, living in group settings, and being infected. What I’m seeing often is the people who need the most care are the people we would very much like to ignore. I think this is because it makes us so uncomfortable to think of what our lives would be like if we were them. We would rather not think about those possibilities. We don’t like realizing how we might be letting people down in relationships of all kinds.

Maybe the collective anger of 2024 is embodied most by Tigers and Rabbits. When I say this I don’t mean that only Tigers and Rabbits are fighting back or picking fights, I mean that I think these two signs are carrying the energy of generations of women’s anger in them. It has taken years for some of us to be able to speak or think about the wrongs that were done, the expectations that we could never meet, and our dreams that were deemed unimportant or unrealistic. Still we persist.

In the first half of the year, March might slow you down, however it still may be easier to accomplish things. In the second half of the year progress will likely be slower.

For those who do have a Rabbit in their Ba Zi, this year there are a couple of signs that in March you could be staying at home more. If that was going to happen, who would you want to be around? Is home a safe and functional place for you? Do you have a support system for yourself?

September is the time when you might need that support the most. The Rooster has special privileges this year and as you know, that is a clash month every year for you. Some Rabbits may be reduced but others might get promoted. That’s the kind of thing you can’t say for sure until you look at the Ba Zi.

Rabbits can profit by focusing on the learning that is available in April, August and December. There is still work to be done between you and the Rat, meaning improving communication and giving acceptance. Explore your relationship with the Water element.

For almost all Rabbits in the Wood Dragon year, remote work is best if you can get it. A good activity for many Rabbits in 2024 is writing, marketing and advertising. You can do that for your own work or as a job. Get yourself out into the world through the written word or by way of social media. Activate your network of friends and family.

If this isn’t your favorite year Rabbit, you can still use it to get ready for the future.

The Rabbit’s Calendar for the Wood Dragon Year

丙寅 Fire Tiger Month
February 4th-March 5th
Take advantage of this timing to get things accomplished.

丁卯 Fire Rabbit Month
March 5th-April 4th
Resting at home? Or somewhere else?

戊辰 Earth Dragon Month
April 4th-May 5th
Too much for anyone to take on alone. Get some support.

己巳 Earth Snake Month
May 5th-June 5th
The truth shows itself. Did you see it?

庚午 Metal Horse Month
June 5th-July 6th
You might conform, you might play, you might love. Mistakes will be made.

辛未 Metal Sheep Month
July 6th-August 7th
Friends or family come to your assistance, calming things down and leveling the playing field.

壬申 Water Monkey Month
August 7th-September 7th
Work with Water: communication, emotion, rest, wisdom, fear…you have guidance if you want it.

癸酉 Water Rooster Month
September 7th-October 8th
Clashed. Are you being critical of your appearance and blaming it on someone else?

甲戌 Wood Dog Month
October 8th-November 7th
If you want protection and defense, it’s available now. Get under the canopy.

乙亥 Wood Pig Month
November 7th-December 7th
Letting someone else do the driving. Next year you will drive them.

丙子 Fire Rat Month
December 7th-January 5th 2025
Your charm and good manners will neutralize any bad vibes if you want that.

丁丑 Fire Ox month
January 5th-February 3rd
Friends are almost here again. Keep the writing, talk, words flowing.

* The Monkey month covers approximately August 7th -September 7th. Each year the dates may vary slightly.